Venomous snakes escape flooded farm, bite residents in China
Locals were warned to take precautions.
Nearly 900 snakes, including venomous cobras, escaped from a flooded snake farm on July 6 in southern China after Typhoon Maysak swept through the region, according to Chinese media.
They escaped their enclosures when floodwaters submerged the snake farm in Guangxi.
Footage shows one of the escaped cobras poking its head above the muddy water.
There have been reports of residents suffering snake bites and struggling to receive medical treatment due to the flooding.
Rescue workers were dispatched to handle the situation.
Residents warned to take precautions
Not all of the released snakes are venomous, but locals have been warned to take precautions.
"If residents find snakes in their homes, they should immediately report it to the village committee and have professional personnel handle the situation,” Wu Zhi, head of the Dengwei village committee in Yunbiao township, Hengzhou, told Red Star News via the Global Times.
"Team members mainly use fishing tools and electric fishing equipment to catch the snakes," he added.
"Most of the snakes have already been washed away by the floods. At present, only a small number remain on floating garbage and debris on stagnant floodwaters. Most of the snakes captured at the site have been non-venomous water snakes."
Typhoon Maysak is the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in China in 2026, bringing heavy rain that has breached dams and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
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